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31 Jul 2008 | Fertiliser prices and profits up
Fertiliser and explosives manufacturer Incitec Pivot says China will underpin demand for protein rich food and therefore fertilisers for at least thirty years. The company has approved the $935 million Moranbah ammonium nitrate plant project. ...... FULL STORY
31 Jul 2008 | Grocery inquiry to report today
Fresh food growers, wholesalers and retailers may have to reveal more about their profit margins under reforms to be proposed today by the competition regulator. ...... FULL STORY
30 Jul 2008 | Trade talks fail again
The Doha round of WTO trade talks have collapsed after nine days over a dispute between India, China and the USA. ...... FULL STORY
30 Jul 2008 | Grain industry set for shake up
The four big Australian grain merchants - AWB, GrainCorp Ltd, ABB Grain Ltd and Cooperative Bulk Handling are expected to consolidate following the abolition of the AWB''s 70 year old monopoly on wheat exports. ...... FULL STORY
30 Jul 2008 | Truck strike worries F&V retailers
Regional retailers are concerned about where their next delivery from fruit and vegetable markets will come from if truck drivers and companies heed the call of the National Road Transport Forum (NRTF) and The Australian Long Distance Owners... ...... FULL STORY
29 Jul 2008 | Lamb prices down from highs
Lamb prices have slipped between 10 and 22 cents per kg cwt from last week''s highs due to higher dollar affecting demand as well as colder weather affecting quality. Heavy lamb prices were particularly affected. ...... FULL STORY
29 Jul 2008 | AWB execs ask court to delay action
Former executives of AWB have asked the Victorian Supreme Court to delay ASIC''s civil action against them until after possible criminal action is finalised. ...... FULL STORY
28 Jul 2008 | New grain trader launches
Online grain broker Clear Holdings will be launched today in Melbourne to take advantage of the abolition of the wheat single desk. ...... FULL STORY
28 Jul 2008 | Cotton subsidies hold up Doha round
The World Trade Organisation''s Doha round talks, due to have ended last Saturday, will continue until tomorrow as representatives of 35 countries work on a consensus agreement drafted last week. ...... FULL STORY
28 Jul 2008 | Agricultural land is the new gold
Agriculture is the new gold says the chairman of Celtic Resources in London. Celtic will spend $100 million buying distressed goat country and cropping farms in Australia as part of a global investment strategy worth $300 million. ...... FULL STORY
25 Jul 2008 | ACCC weighs up Dairy Farmers bids
The National Foods bid for Dairy Farmers has cleared competition regulator approval with the ACCC yesterday accepting the National Foods proposal to divest assets to ease competition concerns. ...... FULL STORY
25 Jul 2008 | Rain stops sugar harvest
Heavy rain has brought sugar cane and crushing operations in key growing areas of Queensland to a complete halt says Canegrowers, the sugar industry association. ...... FULL STORY
25 Jul 2008 | Tax breaks for trees on the agenda
Farmers and big private landowners will benefit from tax breaks for carbon sinks says the National Association of Forest industries. A senate committee is currently reviewing tax issues around forestry carbon sinks. ...... FULL STORY
24 Jul 2008 | Quarantine politics says minister
Australia''s quarantine system has become too politicised and is damaging Australian trade deals says the minister for agriculture Tony Burke. ...... FULL STORY
24 Jul 2008 | Namoi grows share of declining market
Namoi cotton co-operative will delivered a profit to shareholders of $4.5 million this year, down from guidance of $4.8 million. Guidance for next year''s full year profit to February 2009 is between $4 and $5 million. ...... FULL STORY
24 Jul 2008 | Late season water gets expensive
Late season water prices on the Victorian Watermove exchange have risen from around $200 per megalitre in January to about $550 per megalitre in June. ...... FULL STORY
24 Jul 2008 | Graincorp backs off from Ridley takeover
Graincorp has withdrawn its $260 million offer to buy stock feed maker Ridley Group and says that it wants to retain a good working relationship with its big customer. ...... FULL STORY
23 Jul 2008 | Tariff cuts look bigger on paper
Average global tariffs on farm produce would fall from 14.5 per cent to 11 per cent under a Doha round trade agreement says the World Bank. ...... FULL STORY
23 Jul 2008 | Landcare funding announced
Twenty eight million dollars in Landcare funding has been announced by the federal government. Grants went to a range of Landcare groups, catchment management authorities, research centres, industry groups and natural resource management bodies. ...... FULL STORY
22 Jul 2008 | AWB needs reform to leave Iraq bribes behind
Victorian wheat growers support reform to the shareholder structure of AWB says the Victorian Farmers Federation. AWB shareholders will vote again next month to end the current two tiered share structure of A-class (grower) shares and B-class... ...... FULL STORY
22 Jul 2008 | Australian quarantine biased says New Zealand
Australia has strongly rejected New Zealand claims of politicisation of its quarantine processes in its response to the complaint to the WTO regarding the apple import ban. ...... FULL STORY
22 Jul 2008 | Australian meat contaminated says Russia
Four Australian meat processing plants have joined a long list of plants from Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and Italy that have been banned from exporting to Russia due to unacceptable microbial contamination issues. ...... FULL STORY
22 Jul 2008 | Rain coming to Queensland
Queensland coastal regions may get more than 100mm of rain in the next few days said the bureau of meteorology. Unusual rain falls are expected in all areas between Cairns and Brisbane. ...... FULL STORY
21 Jul 2008 | Emergency measures extended for Murray-Darling
Strict rationing of water drawn from the Murray and Darling rivers will continue, with water used only for people rather than for agriculture and irrigation. ...... FULL STORY
21 Jul 2008 | Rice growth declines
Sunrice is looking for farmers to trial rice crops in Queensland''s traditional cane growing districts. Most rice grown in Australia is grown in southern New South Wales where irrigated water is now virtually nothing. ...... FULL STORY
21 Jul 2008 | Consolidated Pastoral lives up to its name
Consolidated Pastoral continues to buy cattle stations in northern Australia. The latest is the 248,000 Ucharonidge Station north of Tennant Creek and adjacent to the firm''s existing Newcastle Waters station. ...... FULL STORY
18 Jul 2008 | Wheat yield likely to whither
Australian Crop Forecasters cut its outlook for Australia''s wheat crop for a third time this year to 23.5 million tonnes. ...... FULL STORY
18 Jul 2008 | Feedlot numbers rise on lower margins
The number of cattle on feed increased 13 per cent over the June quarter. Feedlots were operating at 60 per cent, up from 51 per cent three months earlier but down from capacity usage of 77 per cent a year before. ...... FULL STORY
18 Jul 2008 | Horticulture favoured by MIS investors
Managed investment schemes raised $1.1 billion from investors in the 2008 financial year, down five per cent of the year before the Australian Agribusiness Group said. ...... FULL STORY
17 Jul 2008 | Farmers escape carbon trading for now
Farmers groups welcomed the delayed application of carbon trading to agriculture. Agriculture will not be included in the emission trading scheme until at least 2015 despite being one of the most intensive emitters of greenhouse gasses. ...... FULL STORY
17 Jul 2008 | Dairy Farmers earnings up despite costs blowout
Bidders for Dairy Farmers received the group''s unaudited accounts yesterday showing that Dairy Farmer''s earnings grew 23 per cent last year to more than $70 million. ...... FULL STORY
16 Jul 2008 | Few farmers paid to walk away
Few farmers are seeking government grants to walk away from unviable farms, and ever fewer quality for the grant. Only 32 Australian farmers out of 411 applicants have received a grant so far. On average they received $139,000. ...... FULL STORY
16 Jul 2008 | Still no water for Goulburn irrigators
Goulburn Murray Water said there is still no water available in all systems, two weeks into the irrigation season. Nor may any be available this season. About 15,000 farmers in dairy and horticulture in theory have water allocations from the rivers. ...... FULL STORY
16 Jul 2008 | May a better month for dairy
Milk production Australia-wide was up about five per cent for May but overall production is down for the season. ...... FULL STORY
15 Jul 2008 | River crisis drives climate change policy
There could be 40 per cent less water in the Murray Darling Basin by 2030 according to the CSIRO. Under the worst case scenario outlined by the CSIRO, the Murray would have 69 per cent water than at present. ...... FULL STORY
15 Jul 2008 | Corn petrol can make greenhouse worse
Biofuels are no longer seen as the answer to world energy shortages and could be making the food crisis in developing ountries worse while adding to carbon emissions. ...... FULL STORY
14 Jul 2008 | Farm grants not popular
$4.4 million has been paid to just 32 farmers who applied for the federal government''s grant to leave their unviable properties. ...... FULL STORY
14 Jul 2008 | AWB must reform to compete
AWB must reform its constitution and abolish A class shareholdings in order to retain a good share price and access capital markets says an independent report to the board of directors. ...... FULL STORY
11 Jul 2008 | River inflows the lowest on record
June inflows into the Murray Darling river system were the lowest on record with just 95 gigalitres entering the rivers. The CEO of the Murray Darling Basin Commission said the situation was critical and the rivers akin to a patient on life support. ...... FULL STORY
11 Jul 2008 | Fruit and vegie prices plummet
Lower demand from stretched consumers and good weather has led to an oversupply of fruit and vegetables and lower prices for farmers. Oranges, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are now selling at near *or* below cost price. ...... FULL STORY
11 Jul 2008 | Wheat trade investigation leads to arrests
Two arrests have been made and more are expected to follow as the Indian police continue their investigation into corruption in the Australia/India wheat trade. ...... FULL STORY
10 Jul 2008 | Minister prays for more rain
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a high chance of year''s best rain falling across much of the continent this week, adding to optimism about the winter wheat crop. ...... FULL STORY
10 Jul 2008 | WA lamb laws better than other states
Mutton can''t be sold as lamb in Western Australia according to evidence given to the Senate committee investigating the desirability of a national marketing standard for mutton and lamb. ...... FULL STORY
10 Jul 2008 | ACCC still undecided on milk merger
National Foods will offload some factories and plants and give up control of its Pura Milk brand in order to satisfy the competition regulators concerns over its proposed takeover of Dairy Farmers. ...... FULL STORY
9 Jul 2008 | Mixed farmers make the most of hard times
Australia''s mixed farmers have increased profitability of their operations by about nine per cent over the last five years, despite drought and difficult conditions according to research by the Grain and Graze project. ...... FULL STORY
9 Jul 2008 | Wheat belt needs to become tree belt
Traditional wheat and grain farming systems in Western Australia''s northern wheatbelt will be rendered unviable unless dramatic changes to make farming more flexible and drought-proof are introduced soon says farmer group Evergreen Farming. ...... FULL STORY
9 Jul 2008 | Milk supplies tight but exports up
The value of dairy exports has risen while the amount exported has fallen in the 11 months to May 08. The value of exports was up 12 per cent to $2.6 billion. ...... FULL STORY
8 Jul 2008 | Agriculture under threat from climate change and Garnaut
Ninety two per cent of irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin will go by 2100 says the Garnaut report. However not acting now against climate change will cost much more says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. ...... FULL STORY
8 Jul 2008 | Less wine exported in 2007
The volume of wine exported fell 12 per cent to 702 million litres in 2007 the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation said. The value of wine exports fell 11 per cent to $2.7 billion. This is the first drop in export volumes and values in 14 years. ...... FULL STORY
8 Jul 2008 | Second payment from AWB wheat pool
AWB will pay farmers who contributed to the 2007/08 wheat marketing pool $571 million. Farmers sent 4.35 million tonnes of wheat to the pool. This is the second distribution by AWB. The third payment will be made in October. ...... FULL STORY
7 Jul 2008 | Cows must be included in emissions trading scheme
The National Farmers Federation, the Australian Farm Institute, NSW Farmers and Agforce in Queensland have all expressed concerns about the possibility of agriculture being included in an emissions trading scheme. ...... FULL STORY
7 Jul 2008 | Drought policy needs to catch up with climate change
A major report by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO says Australia''s growing regions face a hotter and drier future because of climate change. The Prime Minister said the report was very disturbing. ...... FULL STORY
7 Jul 2008 | More bad news coming for Futuris
Changed tax treatment of horticultural investment schemes is the major reason for the problems that have beset Futuris. Integrated Tree Cropping, a Futuris subsidiary, has about one third of the market in forestry schemes and has been hit hardest... ...... FULL STORY
7 Jul 2008 | Most value in land for livestock
Average sale prices increased for rural properties in Victoria in 2007, though aggregate sales fell. ...... FULL STORY
7 Jul 2008 | Freight costs rise in line with diesel
Trucking contractors are increasing their rates more frequently and imposing fuel levies to cover the increased cost of diesel. Diesel at present costs in the range of $1.80 to $2.00 a litre in most areas. ...... FULL STORY
4 Jul 2008 | Meat production down, prices up
Meat production fell 3.5 per cent in May, and was also down 3.0 per cent over the 12 months to May, to 3.2 million tonnes. Herd numbers fell in Victoria and New South Wales but increased in Queensland. ...... FULL STORY
4 Jul 2008 | Farm incomes and costs up
Farm income will rise by 50 per cent this year, after costs are deducted, according to the latest estimates from the National Australia Bank. ...... FULL STORY
4 Jul 2008 | Murray Darling deal signed
The Prime Minister and state premiers meeting at the Council of Australian Governments have signed a new deal on the Murray Darling Basin. The deal will see $3.7 billion in new money for water projects in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. ...... FULL STORY
3 Jul 2008 | Northern NSW irrigators receive full water rights
The NSW Department of Water and Energy said irrigators in northern NSW will receive 100 per cent of their allocation, while those in the southern half of the state have received nothing. ...... FULL STORY
3 Jul 2008 | State strife over Murray water
Victoria''s government says it will oppose moves to lift the cap of four per cent on the amount of water from the Murray Darling basin that may be traded in one year. ...... FULL STORY
3 Jul 2008 | Wheat optimism restrained
Rabobank estimated wheat production in Australia this year at between 20 million tons and 24 million tons, it said in a monthly review. The agribusiness bank said significant production risks remain for Australia''s wheat production this season. ...... FULL STORY
2 Jul 2008 | Growers bet the farm on winter crop
Moderate rains in eastern wheat belt in June, though below average in many places, were enough to encourage farmers to expand the area devoted to crops. Farmers are gambling on a reasonable yield to take advantage of the doubling in world grain prices. ...... FULL STORY
2 Jul 2008 | A little less funding for timber croppers
Promoters of tax-effective, managed investment schemes in agriculture raised $1.1 billion in money in the 2008 financial year, down 10 per cent on 2007, according to estimates from Adviser Edge. ...... FULL STORY
1 Jul 2008 | Free range eggs not fresh
One third of free range eggs are not fresh according to the Australian Consumers Association. 36 per cent were found to be weak and watery. ...... FULL STORY
1 Jul 2008 | Banks circle cotton producer
National Australia Bank and Suncorp have given the Cubbie group until the end of 2008 to find extra funds to shore up their balance sheet. The group is seeking $100 to $150 million in funding. ...... FULL STORY
1 Jul 2008 | Budding interest in Dairy Farmers
Fonterra is in talks with National Foods/Warrnambool Cheese and Butter about joining the bid for Dairy Farmers. Parmalat is cooperating with Murray Goulburn to mount a separate bid. ...... FULL STORY
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